Mercy Foundation Receives Grant to Support Human Trafficking Prevention Efforts

Mercy Foundation’s Human Trafficking program has been awarded a grant from the CommonSpirit Mission and Ministry Fund for $75,478. Mercy Foundation’s UP2USNow violence prevention work launched our community’s human trafficking initiative. It focuses on increasing awareness and providing tools to identify victims and survivors among law enforcement, medical and social service providers and other industries, such as truck drivers and tattoo artists. We have also responded to the needs of victims by supporting a victim advocate, providing a single point of entry for access to services and resources. Both of these activities are supported with funds from the Oregon Department of Justice. As human trafficking has become more prevalent, with more frequency in our community, the challenge we now face is the need to expand our work to include more prevention initiatives. Support from the CommonSpirit Mission and Ministry Fund will transform awareness into action that our communities can implement to prevent future exploitation. “This grant allows our task force to continue to focus on education for our community as well as supporting victims of human trafficking. This is a very real issue in Douglas County and we are very grateful for this grant.” Marion Pearson, Violence Prevention Program Manager. To learn more about Mercy Foundation’s Human Trafficking Prevention efforts, please call 541-677- 4818 or visit http://www.up2usnow.org/task-force.html Via Mercy Foundation